One surprise during Apple’s big event last week was that the company unveiled two new products… and neither of them contained the letter “i.” Although we expected Apple to show off its first-ever wearable computer at the event, we thought that it would be called either the iWatch or iBand and were a little surprised to see it labeled the Apple Watch. Similarly, Apple’s mobile payment platform was dubbed Apple Pay instead of iPay, which further signaled Apple might be moving in a different direction when it comes to branding.
Former Apple ad man Ken Segall writes that Apple’s shift away from the “i” for new products might be a permanent one. In fact, Segall tells us that even Steve Jobs had started to grow tired of “i” branding years ago — and that was before Apple even released the iPhone and the iPad. But now that Apple is releasing two completely new products with its watch and mobile payments platform, it’s as good a time as ever to cut the “i” loose once and for all.
“After being attached to so many revolutions for the past 17 years, the i has become a super-powerful branding element for Apple,” Segall writes. “The downside is that Apple can never truly own it. Companies around the world have created i-products and will continue to do so. Every new i-name from Apple invites legal challenges. The Apple brand is one of the most valuable and most loved brands on earth. By going with the “Apple [name]” format, every new product would be directly connected to the master brand, and would be highly resistant to i-lawsuits.”
Segall’s whole post is worth reading and can be found at the source link below.
